Since our foundation, The Gill Payne Partnership Ltd have been supporting various national and local charities. There is something in our ethos which almost insists that we use our skills to assist others when they ask for help.

Over the years we have supported a variety of charities however, one charity above all the others has been the focus of our attention for nigh on 14 years and that is the When You Wish Upon a Star charity. This charity has a national and local presence and it is the local presence to us that receives this attention.

The local When You Wish Upon a Star is run by an amazing and dedicated team driven forwards by the equally amazing Joanne Heywood, and covers Lincolnshire, Yorkshire East and West Riding, South Yorkshire and into parts of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

The charity makes dreams come true for children with life-limiting and/or life-threatening illnesses. Dream comes in all shapes, from being the guest of Manchester United, to driving a racing car to meeting a certain celebrity or swimming with dolphins.

Each year there is one very special event organised by the charity and that is that nearly 100 children and guardians will be flown to Rovaniemi in Lapland to play in the enchanted forest, go to the Arctic Circle to Santa Claus Village and to meet the ‘big man’ himself – Santa!

We help this charity with some donations yes, but we provide more support in the form of time. Time to MC events for them, to do things that are simply requested as time is a valuable commodity to a charity.

On the Quad Bikes – great fun!

Just enjoying being pulled around

“This is serious snow mum!”

Hold on tight – On the Huskies Sled

Each year, Gary Payne has also been invited with the flight out to Lapland to use his camera to capture anything and everything that happens and this year was no exception! Gary took more than 1,700 photographs which are available to view at: https://www.facebook.com/Joatwish/photos_albums – please visit these albums.

So is this the reason why we do it? Not entirely, no. We do it because it is right, because we can help in our small way just as others do, to ‘make a difference’ and create lasting memories for the families as well as the children, and when you add all the other ‘small ways’ in which people and businesses help them, these all make the ‘big difference’ to their lives.

Some of the children face an uncertain future, that they may not see adulthood whilst others are facing a long but tough life because of their conditions. We also do it because of the stories we hear afterwards, of the experiences the children have had in having a ‘dream come true’ even if but for a moment. One of these children is Max… …and this is his story…

We use 'cookies' to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website and if you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with this. If you would like to know about 'what a cookie is' and how we look after your data privacy here, follow the 'Learn More' link to read our Privacy Notice.Okay, I'm happy with that.Learn more